Cleanup of fallen Fenner windmill progresses as investigation continues

Fenner, NY -- A month after neighbors, local officials and energy advocates were shocked when one of Fenner’s 20 windmills collapsed, teams of engineers are clearing wreckage and collecting information as the remaining turbines sit eerily dormant.

Earlier this week, work crews removed Turbine 18’s concrete foundation, which weighed in at more than 85 tons. The mangled remains of the windmill, which once stood 212 feet from the ground to the center hub, and 329 feet to the tip of a blade at its full height, are askew on the cornfield where they landed and surrounded by heavy equipment, cranes and Dumpsters.

Officials hope the cleanup itself will further their investigation into the cause of the collapse. Enel spokesman Hank Sennott said the removal of the foundation would give forensic engineers access to more information about the 187-ton tower’s base. The team has been working at the site since the Dec. 27 accident.

“Being able to check the hole where the tower was is obviously an important part of the review,” Sennott said Wednesday.

In the month since the crash, crews have recovered the turbine’s computer, which links to the facility’s monitoring system, and determined that the windmill was operating at reasonable speeds before it collapsed. Both the cleanup and investigation could take several more months, officials said. They had hoped to have more information about the cause of the accident by the end of January.

“We’re going to take as long as it takes to get the right answer,” Sennott said. “The safety of our employees and landowners is our first priority, so there’s not going to be a rush to judgment.”

The Fenner wind farm was built in 2001. At the time, the cluster of 20 turbines on a rural ridge just east of Cazenovia in Madison County was the largest facility of its kind east of the Mississippi River, with the capacity to power up to 10,000 homes. Enel oversees about 260 turbines in the United States and Canada.

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